Throughout history, humans have found countless uses for plants to aid in their survival and support the growth of their societies. Those plant uses took many forms, one of which was to create effective weaponry that would be useful in battle or while hunting. The tradition of using plants as raw materials for weapon creation is common throughout the world. There are numerous plant species that have contributed to this effort.
For example, the plant known as Viburnum dentatum is not only an incredibly attractive flowering shrub, it also proved quite useful to indigenous North American hunters and warriors. This plant goes by the common name arrowwood for a good reason. This plant grows multiple stems from its base, each of which is perfectly straight. Since those stems had minimal curves and bends, many Native American tribes found them to be ideal for creating arrows.
Arrows are not a weapon exclusive to North America. In fact, many cultures have relied on arrows for hunting and fighting for centuries. Throughout that long history of arrow use, people found ways to make their arrows more potent by adding poison to them. There are several common sources for arrow poison, many of which come from plants. For instance, the plant known as Chondrodendron tomentosum, which grows in Central and South America, contains poisonous alkaloids, which can affect the nervous system and cause paralysis. Many other plants have a similar toxic quality, such as Strychnos toxifera, Strychnos guianensis, and Sciadotenia toxifera. We can refer to these plants collectively as curare, a general term for any plant that contains toxic alkaloids suitable for poison arrows.
While arrows are an amazingly efficient projectile, they are essentially useless without a bow to launch them. Fortunately for traditional weapon makers, it’s possible to use plants to make powerful bows as well. The most famous example of using plants to make bows came from medieval Europe. During that period, the English were known for making longbows from the wood of Taxus baccata, or English yew. The heartwood and sapwood of the yew tree can withstand significant compression and tension, making them the best option for bow-making at the time. That single development of creating longbows from yew trees gave the English a significant advantage during many historic battles against opponents who made bows from less-suitable woods.
Another intriguing use of plants as a form of weaponry took place in Scotland. A Scottish legend suggests that the Scottish thistle plant once acted as an effective form of barbed wire. The story goes that a group of Vikings planned to attack a group of Scots while they were sleeping at night. However, before the ambush could occur, one of the Vikings stepped on the pointed thorns of a thistle plant and shouted out in pain. The sound of his voice awakened the Scots and saved them from the attack. Based on that legend and other uses, the thistle plant remains a prominent symbol of Scotland to this day.
Many plant-based weaponry developments occurred in Asia. In that region, the bamboo plant was particularly useful for making a wide range of weapons. Bamboo is incredibly versatile while also having an impressive amount of strength and durability. Those qualities made this plant the perfect option for bows, arrows, darts, blowguns, staffs, and much more. Not only was bamboo strong, but it was also widely available and was a material that people could carve easily, making it very popular for many uses, including in weapon making.
Australia is also home to an impressive history of weapon creation. One of the most well-known weapons to emerge from that continent is the boomerang, which Aboriginal people used for hunting and combat. The wood those people used to make boomerangs would vary based on the region in which they lived. In central Australia, the mulga plant, also known as Acacia aneura, was the hardwood of choice for this purpose. In other areas, sheoak, or Allocasuarina, was the raw material of choice for making boomerangs.
Humanity has a long tradition of creating and improving its weapons to become more effective while hunting or fighting on the battlefield. Many of the most reliable traditional weapons came from the raw materials plants produce. Those plants are all unique and have different origins, but each one holds an important place in human history and military development.